More than seven months have passed since the Covid-19 pandemic was declared. Many have businesses have made the abrupt shift to working from home, while many others have crumbled, and the future looks uncertain.
Remote work is not a novelty by any means, but it has been in the spotlight for a few months now. Whether you are still house-ridden due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic or are slowly returning to the office, you’ve likely been researching various remote work options for your business. And certainly asking; is remote workforce profitable? How challenging is it to organize? Should you even consider introducing a remote workforce in your business?
In this article, we outline the most common pros and cons of remote working to help you determine the right move for your business.
Pros of working from home
If you are thinking of working from home, there are several benefits to consider:
Less need to rent an office space
Working from home reduces the expenditure burden of renting office space and acquiring office-related accessories, thereby saving some money.
More Independence
Working from home can provide autonomy and independence in your job that might be absent in a physical workplace.
No commute to work
Not having a long commute to and from work can save a great deal of time and money. It can even reduce your level of stress.
Positive Environmental Impact
This implies that working from home reduces greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of taking several cars off the road for remote workers.
Sustainability Impact
Working from home supports various sustainability initiatives such as economic growth and reduced inequalities, sustainable cities, climate change, and responsible consumption. Remote working results in reduced; pollution, congestion, and traffic that contributes to climate change through commuter travel to and from the traditional workplace.
Improved Inclusivity
Remote work enables companies to embrace diversity and inclusion by hiring people from different socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural backgrounds and with different perspectives. This transformation can be challenging to accomplish when recruiting is restricted to a specific locale that not everyone wants to afford to live near. This can benefit your company as you can work with a variety of skillful professionals that you can learn from.
Reduction in work absences
Whether you’re sick or have to schedule an important appointment, working from home can reduce how often you need to take a day off.
Job opportunities to persons with disabilities
Remote positions can open up additional job opportunities for individuals with limitations to working in traditional roles. For instance, people with disabilities that prevent them from traveling or working long hours can build their careers remotely.
Provides work-life balance
In many cases, working from home can help you foster your work-life balance by allowing you to schedule your work around your personal life. This gives employees the time and environment needed to make healthy and happier choices.
Save on expenses
This benefit can have several far-reaching effects. For instance, when you eliminate commuting, you can reduce your fuel and transportation expenses. Telecommuting can also help you reduce other expenses like work clothing, meals, and even childcare.
Increased productivity
When you work independently in a quieter environment, you may be more productive. Increased productivity relates to several more factors, including the ability to move around your home freely and take breaks whenever you feel the need to.
Improved technical skills
Telecommuting often requires using technical applications such as online meetings, communication, and team collaboration platforms. You can develop technical skills that you may not typically use in a physical workplace.
Improved communication skills
Working from home requires consistent communication between teams and managers, requiring more emails, phone calls, video calls, and chats on messaging platforms. Regular use of communication tools will improve your skills.
More work flexibility
Working from home allows you to work during your most productive times, wear what you’re most comfortable wearing and create a workflow that works for you.
No office distractions
You don’t have any office distractions when you work from home. Office noise like coworkers talking, office equipment running, or phones ringing can be highly distracting in a work environment. A home office doesn’t have these same distractions.
Cons of working from home
In addition to its benefits, working from home can come with several drawbacks including:
Increased isolation
You can become quite isolated working from home if you spend most of your time working alone with no team or office environment.
Home office costs
Some remote positions require specific equipment like headsets, webcams, or software to perform essential tasks and projects.
Risk of overworking
Telecommuting also comes with a risk of working longer than you should. This can definitely lead to burn-out and increased work-related stress, and no time for personal life.
Distractions at home
Distractions like the television, pets, or household chores can affect how you perform your job. Too many distractions can lead to a decrease in your productivity and motivation.
No separation of work and leisure space/time
Working from home can be challenging to create a distinct separation between your career and personal life.
Relationships are harder to form
It’s hard to establish trust and develop relationships with colleagues and clients when you don’t have a daily face-to-face connection.
Now that you’re familiarized with the pros and cons of working remotely for employers, are you ready to give it a shot? The answer is yes. This is because we have provided some mitigation strategies for the cons of a remote workforce through digital applications in this article.
Why not try these applications; DeskTime, TimeDoctor, and HubStaff to look after your team while simultaneously tracking data on what everyone is doing in their little corner. These applications are user-friendly, cost-effective, and productivity efficient. They give the employers an overview of different tasks that include projects broken down into jobs for different employees.
To name a few, it also gives employers the visibility needed to assess capacity and deadlines while tracking the progress and success of their business.